Palm Leaf ManuscriptsMany of the oldest Siddhar texts are palm leaf manuscripts and not all of them are translated in English. His main work is named “Tirumantiram”, a 3,000 verse text, which is the foundation of the Southern Shaiva Siddharta School of philosophy.Īnother Siddhar, Bhogar (Bhoganathar), who lived between the 3rd and 5th century AD is said to have discovered the elixir of immortality – one his main works is the Pharmacognosy. Siddhar StatuesAmazing as they sound, these abilities could allegedly be achieved with the help of simple tools like controlling breath, concentrating the mind and raising the power of the ‘Kundalini’, which is related to the sexual energy.įurthermore, the system of healing that the Siddhars possessed was allegedly given to them by the god Murugan, son of the Hindu god Shiva.Īnother famous Siddhar was Tirumular, who was a Tamil mystic and writer of 6th century AD and was also one of the 18 Siddhars according to the Tamil Siddha tradition. Perfect accomplishment of one's determination Witnessing and participating in the past times of the godsĩ. Moving the body wherever thought goes (teleportation/astral projection)Ĩ.
Being undisturbed by hunger, thirst, and other bodily appetitesĤ. To be everywhere in omnipresence (Vasitvam)īut if this is not enough, there are ten secondary siddhis as described in Bhagavata Purana that include the following:ġ. To be lord of all creation in omnipotence (Isatvam)Ĩ. To be in all things, omni-pervasive (Prakamya))ħ. To enter into other bodies in transmigration (Prapti)Ħ. To become as heavy as the mountain (Garima)ĥ. To become as light as vapour in levitation (Laghima)Ĥ. To become big in unshakeable proportions (Mahima)ģ. To become tiny as the atom within the atom (Anima)Ģ. The main category included 8 powers called ashta siddhis:ġ. The powers that the Siddhars possessed were separated in categories. Apart from the legends that exist, the beginnings of the Siddhars’ are lost in time. About 96 books are attributed to him and that includes writings in alchemy, medicine and spirituality. Agathiyar is considered to be the author of a lot of the first Siddhar literature and he was supposed to have lived in the 7th century BC. But the prevailing tradition refers to Agasthya (or Agasthyar) as the first Siddhar, one of the seven sages (or Saptarshis) as mentioned in the Vedic texts, and he was the son of the god Brahma of the Hindu creation story. Some legends talk about Sri Pathanjali, who was considered to be an incarnation of Adiseshan, the celestial five-headed snake associated with God Vishnu. There is a debate as to who was the first Siddhar. The poems were very difficult to interpret and were written in an encoded way so that only a few could understand them.
Their teachings and findings were written in the form of poems in the Tamil language, a language spoken mainly by people in South India and parts of Sri Lanka. The Siddhars were followers of the God Shiva and according to different texts there were 18 of them. These powers spanned from controlling time and space, to transforming the body, manipulating matter at the molecular level and achieving immortality. Siddhars are a type of saint in India who are said to have had many powers and achieved a ‘god-like’ state through specific secret practices that were known only to them. The Incredible Powers of the Ancient Siddhars Posted by Krishna Kalki on Decemat 6:38pm in Ascension and Awakening